Railroad rail bracing



Aug. 25, 1936.. J, T NEN 2,052,041v

RAILROAD RAIL BRAG ING Filed Aug. 14, 1955 INV ENT OR.

I BY

Eff.3, 3

ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 25, 1936 RAILROAD RAIL GING.

John Sutinen, Duluth, iynnn. I Application August 14, 1 935, serial No. 36,162

' 5 Claims.

This inventionrelates to railroad rail bracing, and has special reference to such a device especially adapted for use upon railroad tracks in which metal ties are used.

- The principal object of the invention is to provide a. more practical, dependable, and adjustableirail brace than heretofore known.

. Another object is to provide a separable, easily assembled and disassembled brace having interchangeable major portions resulting in simplicity of construction and convenience in repair.

Other. minor objectsand advantages; of the in: vention will appear in the. following description thereof.

Referringnnowto the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a metal tie and cross section of a rail mounted thereupon with the novel form of brace applied thereto.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a broken portion of a preferred form of tie for such an equipment.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective View of the improved form of brace lock.

Figure 5 is an elevation of a modified form of brace construction.

The preferred form of tie as illustrated in the drawing comprises the web portion I, base 23, and tread portions 45 while 6 represents the rail of the track. In this assembly I have illustrated the tie as being provided with a wearing plate 1 for the rail, and this plate is designed to carry a. wooden or other suitable cushioning means 8 for direct contact with the rail; this construction being similar to that shown in my Patent 1,962,533 dated June 12th, 1934. There is also shown in this assembly the wooden block 9, bolted to the web I of the tie for cooperative engagement with the spikes l0 which hold the rail in place. The improved form of tie here illustrated has the thickened portion of the base on one side as illustrated at H tapered towards the web I for convenience in assuring a tight fit of the block 9 as it may be wedged into its position by draft upon the bolts I2 by which it is drawn home. Furthermore an added feature in this form of tie is that the tread 4-5 extends on either side of the web permitting of the holes for the improved form of brace occurring as closely as possible to the web, as clearly illustrated in the drawing, the holes being shown at 13.

In the former patent supra, as well as my patthan the end M to bear snugly against the Web (or. ass a e) at of June lth, 1929, No.,1,715,434, Ihave shown I a wishbone form of brace, but now find that a material improvement exists in dividing such a brace, and making two separate members thereof,,each member having its ends bent at substantially right angles to the body portion and bent so as to, fit within one of the holes [3 and the: Opposite end l5 being bent slightly more of the rail and under the ball thereof, the body portion of the braces being shown at it.

Now, these braces, being separate and initially independent of each other, may be more readily applied to the tie and the rail without the bulb of the latter in any way interfering with such installation, whereas this was not the case with the wishbone type of brace.

As a means for adjusting and holding the braces in their position against the rail I have provided the assembly shown in more detail in Figure 4 of the drawing, the same comprising a metal bar l'l bent arcuately at both ends and backwardly parallel with its body portion forming a bight or loop l8 at either end. Removably hooked centrally of the body portion of this bar is the crooked bolt l9 which is designed to hold in position the arcuately shaped metal shoe 20, the ends of which cover the inner ends of the slots formed by the bights l8, and which ends are slidable to and from the outer ends of the slots by adjustment of the nut 2| on the bolt l9 externally of the shoe. It is readily apparent that when the bar ll! is placed in the proper position for overlapping engagement with the braces as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, a tightening upon the nut M on the bolt l9 will impinge the terminals of the shoe against the body portions of the braces, and thus, if properly tightened, will hold the bar positively against sliding movement upon the braces. Thus it is evident that at any time the relative length of the braces for the rail may be changed by sliding towards or from the rail the bar H and locking same in any thus adjusted position by the operation just described of the shoe 2! on the bar.

In Figure 5 is illustrated a modified form of brace simply for the purpose of providing one when the occasion might require a brace of less angle when positioned against the rail, as it is evident that the lower end of the brace when doubled back upon itself, as at 22, will hold said lower end somewhat higher from the tread of the tie, bringing the body of the brace nearer in parallelism with said tread.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A rail brace for a rail supported upon a tie having holes in the upper surface thereof, comprising a pair of like interchangeable members bent at substantially right angles at both ends, one end for engagement in said holes and the other end for engagement against the web of the rail, the said bent ends being substantially parallel and the spacing of said members when in cooperative engagement with the rail being such that they diverge towards the rail, and adjustable clamping means carried by and adjacent the rail ends of said members for drawing them together when forced toward their divergent ends.

2. A brace for a railroad rail supported upon a metal tie having holes in the upper surface thereof spaced from the rail, consisting of two like interchangeable members bent at one end for insertion within said holes and at their opposite ends engaging the web of the rail, said members diverging from each other in a direction from the tie to the rail web, and clamping means for slidable engagement with said like members adjacent the rail comprising a bar hooked at both ends for such engagement and a spring clamp having a bolt centrally therethrough hooked over said bar with the ends of the clamp slidable upon the hooked ends of the bar for selective engagement with said like bracing members by adjustment of the bolt.

3. A brace for a railroad rail supported upon a tie, comprising a pair of like interchangeable members having their outer ends removably attached to the tie and positioned so as to diverge from each other in a direction from the tie to the rail and their opposite inner ends engaging a web of the rail, and a clamping member slidably carried by said members adjacent the rail, said clamping member comprising means which when upon said members and forced towards the divergent ends thereof, tends to draw them together and means adjustably carried by said slidable member for engagement with each of the like members simultaneously for preventing backward movement of said slidable members.

4. A brace for a railroad rail when supported upon a tie having holes therein for cooperative engagement with said brace, comprising two like interchangeable members placed in inclined position intermediate of the rail and tie and diverging towards the rail with their lower ends engaging said holes in the tie and their opposite ends bearing against the web of the rail, and an adjustable clamping member upon said members for drawing them together, and means for securing said clamping member in any adjusted position.

5. A brace for a railroad rail when supported upon a tie having holes therein for cooperative engagement with said brace, comprising two like interchangeable members placed in upwardly inclined position and diverging toward the rail, one end of said members being engaged in said holes and their other ends engaging the web of the rail, and an adjustable clamping member slidably supported upon said members for drawing them together when forced toward their divergent ends, and means for securing said clamping member in any adjusted position.

JOHN SUTIANEN. 

